Wildlife News – September 2017

Snow leopards not endangered anymore?

The month September started off with some nice news: the Snow leopard is no longer ‘endangered’ on the IUCN Red List. Snow leopards went from the conservation status “endangered” to “vulnerable” on the IUCN list. Of course, this is positive news, but it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t continue trying to preserve this species, as they are still not saved from extinction (BBC News). For an endangered status, there need to be less than 2 500 mature individuals in combination with a high rate of decline. Those two parameters seem to be unlikely for the Snow leopard at this stage.

Furthermore, The Guardian headlined about the antelopes… five species of African antelopes have changed to a more endangered class in the IUCN red list. The main reasons for this decline are poaching (bushmeat), habitat degradation and competition with domestic livestock. Here are the 5 antelopes:

Giant Eland is now Vulnerable (previous LC – Least Concern)

Mountain Reedbuck is now Endangered (previous LC – Least Concern)

Heuglin’s Gazelle is also Endangered

Southern Lechwe is classified as Near Threatened

Grey Rhebok is also Near Threatened

Of course, there are many more species, including non-mammals, that have been changed in positive or negative direction in the new list. At the moment, this IUCN Red List includes 87 967 species of which 25 062 are threatened with extinction. Check out more about the new released IUCN Red List.

A reminder of the Red List categories:

Extinct(EX) – No known individuals remaining.

Extinct in the wild(EW) – Known only to survive in captivity, or as a naturalized population outside its historic range.

Critically endangered(CR) – Extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.

Endangered(EN) – High risk of extinction in the wild.

Vulnerable(VU) – High risk of endangerment in the wild.

Near Threatened(NT) – Likely to become endangered in the near future.

Least Concern(LC) – Lowest risk. Does not qualify for a more at-risk category. Widespread and abundant taxa are included in this category.

Data Deficient(DD) – Not enough data to make an assessment of its risk of extinction.

European bison (Wisent) shot in Germany

After 250 years, a wild European bison returned on German soil. But I guess the bull had imagined a different welcome… Although he probably had no clue he crossed some weird border. Some people felt threatened by the bison, which is a big misconception. Anyway, the German authorities panicked and were not prepared for this situation. The head of the local public order office instructed to kill this animal. There was no need to feel threatened and there was no danger to humans.

The Wild bison came from a population in Western Pomerania (northwest Poland), on the border with Germany. They have been reintroduced in 1980. At the moment, this population counts about 200 bison. The Polish people are used to seeing them and are not seeing them as a threat. In natural populations, some individuals explore the area in search for new areas to live. So in the future, this will probably happen again, hopefully with a different outcome…

It’s obvious this shooting should have been avoided and there is a need for a better plan for wildlife comebacks.

Wildlife biologists and parasites

If you are interested, you can read it yourself. Fortunately, I haven’t had too bad experiences with parasites. The weirdest thing I got was some bot-flies during my time in Belize (Check out my blog here). But parasites are definitely something to take into account when going on an expedition.

Videos

A very impressing camera trap footage of a lynx and a wild boar. Not sure if the lynx is scared are trying to stalk it. Normally lynx prefers to hunt roe deer. A Wild boar is, in general, a bit too large for a lynx to kill. But maybe if the lynx is really starving it can go for it. Another explanation can be that it’s a young lynx observing his surroundings and trying to make a decision if it’s worth a try or not…

Panthera Belize made a nice video story about the Jaguars lost and found after hurricane Earl passed by in August 2016. Read more about Panthera Belize on my page, their facebook page, my blog from 2016.

Here is the full clip from yesterday's excitement, it shows a real life example of how hard work and proper management practices can pay offVideo uploaded in 1080p (Be sure to use the viewing options for this). To see more of my photography follow me on Instagram